I received some emails from some bento lovers who want to make a simple bento because they don't have much time to prepare bento for their kids, and said that they were not artistic enough to make kyaraben bento. So why not? Simple bento always works for me. Go for it. I made this quick and simple bento this morning. All I need just a small straw to make circles on my yellow egg sheet, flower cutter to make carrot flowers, and food picks to secure the carrot flowers so they didn't fall of. If making egg sheet is too troublesome, you can use nori and punchers to make some variations on the edge. Or you can use zig zag scissor that you get from your local craft store and cut the edge of the nori for onigiri wrapping. As simple as that, so don't be afraid in making bento. You can see that my early bento looks so awful but then I learn to make a better bento from bento friends and reading some bento books which help me a lot. In the end, only choose the style that suits you and you feel comfortable to work with. Everyone will have a different style in their bento making. This way, the bento making will be more fun and exciting. Inside the other round box : red paprika omelet, curry tofu, and braised pork minced meat with potatoes.

I bought these new picks from Bento Craft online store and added them into my collections. And good news is that I will also GIVE AWAY these 3 sets of food picks for my lucky blog reader. All you need to do is to leave your name and email address in the comment box, tell me whether you prefer to make a simple bento or a kyaraben bento. I will draw for a lucky winner on Friday, 29 April 2010.

UPDATE!!The lucky winner for the giveaway is Cynthia (Comment No.1).The package will be sent out soon. Enjoy!

Lia, this is so cute and do-able (except the egg sheet part, I am still struggling to make the perfect egg sheet ;)!) I LOVE those 2 cute food picks!! Instant cuteness, the flower cutter makes very pretty veggie flowers too. I only have one flower cutter, the other one is somehow gone missing :(.

Really like to read this post. I remember my first bentos too, hehe it feels so funny to remember the first steps of my bento making: got no ideas, no tools, no good camera, limited ingredients to make bento, etc. But day by day I learned a lot from our bento community. I LOVE this simple bento, I'm definitely gonna copy it, just like what I did with your green doggies hehe. Simple yet super pretty idea like this is something that can't be resisted :D

hai lia..! it's been a long time since my last bento and my last visit too to your blog. I've been absent in making bento for about two weeks. :D so glad to see the simple bento :) me myself, i prefer the simple one. like the ones that you saw on my blog. cause actually i'm not really good in making the kyaraben stuffs, though i still trying to make those sometimes :) but my first reason why i don't make the kyaraben and prefering the simple one (or let me say it as "non kyaraben") is because the bento i made, are not for children consume--but for my husband. he's not really "friendly" with kyaraben things, it'll cause him such a shame :D :) anyway, as usual, i always love your bento creation, they're so unique.

Hi Lia...I prefer to make charaben..don't know why for sure. So sometimes, if I am running out of time, and end up in simple bento, I just let my kids took without snapped them. Perhaps their happy expressions gives me joy to do charaben. Nevertheless, I enjoy making bento either it is charaben or simple :)Ow, cute food picks...can't resist to buy them, eh..? hehehehe

very simple yet so nicely decorated! Always love all your bentos no matter it's simple or kyaraben ones! :DAs for me I prefer kyaraben bentos bcoz they're cuter and my girls always go "WOW!!" heehee :)But I seldom do that due to the limited kinda foods they like and I always do a very last min theme bento which are always a simple, no theme bentos with whatever ingredients I have (they feel like having on the particular day)...

i like all your bento but i prefer like your simple bento because i can make my bento like yours. i often make a simple bento because, i must go to the hospital at 7 am everyday. and if i made a kyaraben bento it can take along time, and i often failed to make it. but basically i love you simple bento much much much mbak lia....

I love love your blog! To be honest I have not made bento...but I have fallen in love with it! I'm still in the process of collecting supplies, books and ideas to prepare myself for when I start making it for my daughter!

Ahem... I was about to tell you always have the greatest, neatest and cutest picks! :PI loved your "simple" bento... It is TOO CUTE to be simple! Round boxes are so cool, your food looks astonishing in them :)Ok. So... what I prefer... I prefer to eat bentos. AHAHAH(right, now seriously), I think I like to make both... any time spent on making homemade bento is already a win. ;)

Agree that a simple touch is enough to make a nice appealing bento; whatever you are comfortable with. That way the process is not a "chore" but an enjoyable activity of love. Can't count how many times I've relied on cute picks and that's all -- but it does make a big difference. A nice shortcut timesaver too. I love to see everyone's different styles! It's how we learn :)

Hi, I think you make the most neat bento, where it feels so complete. I also like how creative and artist your bentos are. I don't think i have the patience to create the fancy bentos that you make, mine are very simple, but i try to make it healthy. Thank you so much for your blog, i read it daily!!! It is fun for me. Thanks!

For now, i prefer to make charaben bento, because Elaine is still 2.5 years old. Through charaben bento, i could teach her new things. Just make a simple one that we think she could understand what it is. :)

I loved reading this post, Lia! You are right, simple touches can make a bento very beautiful! I use a punch to cut out a design in nori and put that on my onigiri. It's so quick and easy, but adds a nice cute element. I prefer to make simple bentos, but arrange them in an artful way. I would love to win these picks, so nice. :) Michelle michmarq (at) hotmail (dot) com

Hey Lia, I love making kyaraben bento more but most of the time I never seem to be able to have enough time and I have absolutely no accessories. While simple bentos are great too, its hard to spice them up without accessories *hint hint* lol lack of subtlety points~ My email's - nerys2q (at) gmail (dot) com

I would prefer kyaraben if I were better at it!! I'm so new so they take me a very long time! Planning on practicing during the summer school break when I'm not so pressed for time in the morning!-Stephanie (herbanretreat@aol.com)

i would make simple ones.....not skillful enough to make complicated ones. The egg sheet thingy is one that i can't still do it. The smoothness of your egg sheet makes me want to put on my face as egg mask. hahahaha......enjoyed your creations very much. j_yeong@yahoo.com

I've always enjoyed making simple bentos. But now that I have a child I think I'd like to try character bentos, at least once in a while. Love your creations, very inspirational ^_^Laura WilliamsLzuccarin@yahoo.com

hai Lia,I've been following your blog as silent reader, then few months ago I found you were able to give TUM and Sekar reader a tutorial. I was happy, and push my self to join :)Thanks for the tips you've given to me (for making egg sheet, I still try to make a smooth one).anyway, i used to make a simple bento, and i prefer to make kyaraben if I've enough time :D, and I will someday if my girl starts to enter her preschool.Makanya banyak baca blognya Lia ini :) Keren, saya suka sekali.sukma(dot)pertiwi(at)yahoo(dot)com

I always make cute and simple bentos for my hubby, He can sometimes haw a long day at his university, so I aften ejoy making him a bento with bear motif since he loves bears :DI usually put a little note with the beto telling him how much I love him, and that I hope he'll be having a great day. I love when he comes home and tells me how much he enjoyed his bento and that it was almost to cute to eat :')Making bentos is just wonderful :D

I tried to make bento but my 1st time making kind of fail as I forgot to include many things in. my 2nd bento making is better as I managed to know what i am doing best by bringing simplicity food and some beautiful toothpick and shapes cutting for the vege. wow... that turns out to be nice (I would not say too nice as I know I have plenty of room to improve on). Tks for all your guide.

Hi, I'm just a student. So I've been trying to learn how to make bentos as I really love Japanese food and culture. The bentos you made are simply kawaii!!! Thank you for posting how to make bentos on your blog. Arigato :D